Millis rallies around teen fighting cancer in year-long quarantine at Boston Children's Hospital
MILLIS – A teenager battling cancer is inspiring people in Millis to come together as he spends a year in quarantine at Boston Children's Hospital.
Fifteen-year-old Aedan Wetherbee likes to have a good time just like any other teenager. But last year, he and his family received devastating news after he started experiencing numbness.
Doctors diagnosed him with anaplastic large cell lymphoma, which is rare for a child his age to have.
"He's just been rolling with the punches," Aedan's mother Dawn Wetherbee said.
After doctors discovered and treated the cancer, they learned it had spread to his liver, lungs and pancreas. One month later, Aedan was in full remission but needed one more treatment.
"They didn't want his bone marrow that could have tumor cells in it going back in his body," Dawn said.
Now, Aedan is undergoing a year-long quarantine at Boston Children's Hospital after undergoing a bone marrow transplant.
Through it all, "Aedan's Army" hasn't let the difficult journey get him down.
"All his friends really wanted to rally around him," Millis High School teacher Shannon Graham said. "We've had students outside our local businesses collecting donations because it's a financial strain on the family when you're going through this."
The Millis Police Department has worked with Cops for Kids With Cancer to help pay medical bills.
"Millis has a saying that's 'small school, big family,'" Dawn said. "And it really is. Moving to Millis was the best decision we made in our whole lives for him."
Now, Aedan's Army is trying to bring some smiles not just to Aedan in his hospital bed, but also to the community with a comedy show that will serve as a fundraiser for the family.
"Having him know we're still thinking of him. Just because he's not here right now doesn't mean we don't consider him still part of our school and part of our family," Graham said.
That is a message that Dawn Wetherbee said means the world to her family as they look for positivity any way they can find it.
"It definitely helps to know there's a whole bunch of people reaching out and thinking about and praying for you that's for sure," she said.
The Comedy Cancels Cancer show will happen at Millis Middle and High School on Friday, March 1.
